Folic acid is used for preventing and treating low blood levels of folate (folate deficiency), as well as its complications, including “tired blood” (anemia) and the inability of the bowel to absorb nutrients properly.

Benefits

Folic acid is also used for other conditions commonly associated with folate deficiency, including:

Ulcerative colitis
Liver disease
Alcoholism
Kidney dialysis.

Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and neural tube defects;

Birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus's spine and back do not close during development.
Some people use folic acid to prevent colon cancer or cervical cancer.
It is also used to prevent heart disease and stroke, as well as to reduce blood levels of a chemical called homocysteine.

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